How to Start a Revolution

(Photo Source: Huffington Post)

How does one start a revolution to change the hearts and minds of people?

1: Think

It is important that a person starts to think. Think about what needs to be changed. Think about why it needs to be changed. Think of how to change the world or the place he or she is surrounded by. Think about when it needs to be changed.

The first process is to think. However, today we have damaged ourselves to a point we cannot think anymore. Is it not strange that we are accepting everything that is being fed to us? Sex sells, why should it sell? Sex is for the bedroom, not to share with everybody. Money is the reason for happiness, why can’t having a happy family or sharing time with friends bring happiness? Why do we have to work 8-5 to make money? Why not work for a whole week non-stop to make money, or three times a week? Do we all need to work white collar jobs? What is wrong with ‘kazi ya mjengo’ (masonry)? Why should politics be divided on tribal basis, not development? Why should we look at other people’s race and judge them? Why should we fight wars when no one is benefitting except the gun manufacturers?  Why do we do things because someone did and it worked for them? Why not do things differently? Why not be called weird because you refuse to be normal?

Thinking is not a tiresome or tedious process. It involves opening the mind to endless possibilities. People have been tortured or killed for thinking. However, revolution is based on idea. A person can be killed, but an idea cannot be wished away. The problem is fear. Those with power are afraid of people who think and will do everything in their power to stop ideas. This is the reason why whenever someone has an innovation or idea they are whisked away to a foreign country to avoid competition with the existing products. If the person refuses there are other extreme measures that are taken, but even if that person is dealt with, another person who saw the idea will come up, and make sure that idea never dies.

Let us all think first. Thinking helps make an informed choice.

2: Act

Do something. Start asking people questions; Question why things are not working; Question what can be done to change the situation; Question what people can do to contribute to change; ask for support from people in order to bring change. Do something. By doing something, you make it possible for others to start asking what they can do to help build on the idea of a revolution. It might be small to you, but it triggers a big chain reaction you could not have imagined.

(Photo Source: Quotes Gram Website)

I am not championing for people to use violence. Mahatma Gandhi never used violence, Martin Luther King Jnr. Never used violence. The only response for violence is more violence. Despite the fact that at times violence works, it can never be sustained. It may have worked against the colonial powers in Kenya, but at the end of the day diplomacy came out on top. We need to talk, assist where we can and create long lasting beneficial relationships.

These two steps are the only one I can think of. Think and act.

To some of you these may look like story tales told to toddlers about magical princesses and fairies, but I believe with hope and trust they can be combined to make Kenya, if not the world a better place. A better place for you, me and the future generation. If you see a piece of paper thrown on the floor, pick it up and put it somewhere. The reason is other people will come and throw things at the same spot and with time it becomes a damping site. It not only damages the environment but causes the global warming and radical weather changes we face today, example the Equinox. I am not a saint, I know it is not easy to do so, especially when you cannot find a trash can for miles. However, something great only begins with one small step.

In order to change the world. You have to change yourself, I have to change myself.

A revolution is changing the mind, the stereotypes and hopeless situations.

What am I doing to bring change?

I have this blog where I write what needs to be changed. My stories that contribute to the need for revolution include ‘It is not my fault (this touches on racism and the fact that we cannot blame people for things that happened years ago) and Politicking (where I wrote about the need for politicians to rise up and decided to work for development of the nation and not themselves). I am also talking to friends and families and sharing with them my ideas. I am happy and grateful for their support and it is always good to hear they shared the same stories with other people and they also want to create change, not only for themselves but for others as well. I am happy to hear on the news that people are changing, example the people who asked a matatu (public transport in Kenya) tout to reduce the volume of the vehicle because of the young mother and child (though I do not support their use of violence) and also the fact that the pastoralists communities in Kenya are coming together to support themselves and their people after being marginalized for so long. 

(Photo Source: Delcapo Files-Wordpress)